Congress of the United States

The United States Constitution divides the government into three branches. Congress is the branch that makes laws. It is called the legislative branch. The other branches are the executive branch (the president) and the judicial branch (the Supreme Court and other courts).

Congress consists of two groups. The groups are called the houses of Congress. One house is the Senate. There are 100 senators, two from each state. The other house is the House of Representatives, or House. There are 435 representatives. The number of representatives from each state is based on the state’s population. The states with greater populations have more representatives.

Senators serve six-year terms. All voters in a state elect both senators from that state. States that have more than one representative, however, are divided into districts. People vote only for the representative from the district in which they live. All representatives run for election every two years.

Both houses of Congress have leaders who manage debates and other lawmaking processes. The leader of the House is called the speaker. The speaker of the House is one of the 435 representatives. He or she is chosen by the political party with the most members, known as the majority party. The leader of the Senate is called the president of the Senate. The president of the Senate is not one of the 100 senators. This office is filled by the vice president of the United States, who is elected with the president. Because the vice president is not a senator he or she usually does not vote in the Senate. However, if there is a tie vote then the vice president can cast the deciding vote. On most occasions the Senate is actually presided over by the president pro tempore. The president pro tempore is a senator who, like the House speaker, is elected by the majority party.

For a law to be made, a member of either house of Congress has to introduce it as a document called a bill. Bills are first sent to a committee. A committee has the power to make changes in a bill. It also decides which bills will be sent along for the whole House or Senate to consider.

In order to be passed, a bill must be approved by both houses of Congress. After one house approves the bill, the other house must also approve it. If the other house does not approve the bill, it is sent to a committee made up of members of both houses for changes. It then goes back to the houses for another vote. To be passed, a bill must be approved by more than half the members who vote on it.

The bill then goes to the president of the United States. If the president signs the bill, it becomes a law. However, the president can veto, or reject, a bill. A vetoed bill can still become law. This can happen if two thirds of both houses of Congress vote to override, or change, the veto.

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